Independent Journalists: Journalists

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Last week a friend asked me if the coming of democratic changes to Cuba would result in independent journalism. I stopped to meditate, because there are answers that shouldn’t be thrown out there without carefully weighing them. In the seconds I remained silent passing through my head were all the images and moments of those reporters of risks and words that have influenced my life. I thought about Raúl Rivero, who left journalism and the official institutions to take a dangerous leap toward freedom for his pen. I remember the typewriter permanently on the table in his apartment on Peñalver Street, the smell of his cigar, his arms reaching out to receive everyone who came. Undoubtedly a man who loved his profession which put him at the center of so much repression and damage.

I kept going over the names. Reinaldo Escobar who permanently infected me with the virus of journalism, my colleagues of Primavera de Cuba, the many friends who have fed the pages of Cubanet, Diario de Cuba, Café Fuerte, HablemosPress, Misceláneas de Cuba, Voces Cubanas, Penúltimos Días and of so many other sites, blogs, press agencies and simple bulletins with just a single sheet folded in half. Spaces in which they have narrated this country concealed by the official media and the triumphalism of political slogans. People who choose the most difficult path, instead of remaining silent, faking it, staying out of trouble like the vast majority. Thanks to them we have heard innumerable news stories silenced in the national newspapers, television and radio, the private and hegemonic property of the Communist Party.

So, when my friend sprung that question on me, I concluded that in a democratic nation journalism has no need of surnames. It is not “official” or “independent.” And so, as a small tribute to all those reporters of yesterday and today, I have written the prologue to the anthology, “Con voz abierta/With Open Voices,” which presents a selection of news and opinion written from within Cuba and in the most precarious of conditions from the legal and material point of view. It is a book of journalists… simply journalists, without qualifiers that determine their affiliation to any ideology. A compilation that will bring about this future in which we will not need to make distinctions between professionals of the press.

The post Periodistas independientes: periodistas appeared first on Generación Y by .

148 thoughts on “Independent Journalists: Journalists”

  1. Thanks Nick. I am only one person, but in my actions I want to reflect what I hope the leadership on both sides will do, which is to MOVE BEYOND VENTING TO PROBLEM-SOLVING (if I may be permitted some capital letters). Start thawing now and don’t stop. Diplomacy has been bungled by the experts on both sides for 54 years in this situation. More concrete has dried than around virtually any other human affairs situation on the face of the earth. The National Review triumphal capitalism down your throat approach has not worked and is only pushing the Caribbean/Latin American block further away from the U.S., whose international credibility diminishes by the day. ALBA is demonstrating that the countries are not going to be dictated to by the U.S., but I hope that all of its member states will be deeply democratic and not autocratic. I think that U.S. chest-pounding, bullying, and Jeffrey D. Sachs-style free-market neoliberal braggadocio will have the opposite effect of what is intended.

    Meanwhile, chits, human and otherwise, are collected on both sides and humankind is not redeemed. Most U.S. citizens are sick of it, but nothing ever happens. Unfortunately, although change needs to be peacefully pressed from below on both sides, in this case the leadership on both sides has to decide to change old habits, which is not easy and takes courage, but that is supposed to be what leaders do. Human suffering can be lessened and peace-making can occur in this situation rather quickly if only the leadership on both sides has the will. And, as I said, as a U.S. citizen, I have every right to ask that my government close Gitmo and give the 120 square miles of land back to its owners, Cuba, on whom the unjust lease was forced just as Cuba was winning its freedom from Spain, a victory my ancestors helped to fund. Too bad most U.S. citizens have no sense of this deeper history, but at least they accurately see the relationship as a ridiculous Cold War relic.

  2. Francisco,
    I would like to say that I take on board your point that the my description ‘Guantanamo Bay Concentration Camp’ is inappropriate.
    Despite the horrors and the torture regime and the force feeding that goes on there, I shall from now on, refrain from using this term.

  3. Francisco,
    Again I agree with pretty much every word of your 1.25 pm post.
    I am an optimist by nature.
    I think President Obama will make some effort at a thaw before he finally departs from The White House.
    Either way, for the Cuban people, he comes as welcome respite in comparison to George Dubya’s sabre rattling.

    Re a ‘thaw’ on the other side:
    I also think that Cuba should get the ball rolling and kick that fool Alan Gross out of jail on compassionate grounds. Send him all the way back home into the arms of his good lady wife who quite probably does not deserve this extended period of worry just for having a fool for a husband.

    Like you I fear that Cuba may go down some crazy neo liberalist route or down some ‘mini China’
    route.
    But I hope not and as I say I am an optimist.

    Don’t let Dear Old Humby make you sore.
    Its just his style.
    He’s fine.
    Just don’t expect to ever draw him into an actual rational and objective debate.
    He’s not on here for that (a point which he PARTIALLY AGREES WITH !!!!).

  4. HUMBY!!!

    First you give us not just one, but both of your favourite pastes within a few days of each other, and then you mention that you think I am ‘….PARTIALLY RIGHT!’….
    That’s the first time ever you have ‘partially’ agreed with me about anything.
    What a special few days this is turning out to be!

    And hey Humby,
    Who says I don’t like your style??
    I lurve ya style fella.
    That little smiley photo and then those big old booming HIGHER CASE CAPITALS that lead us into another tremendously exciting and earth-shattering copy and paste.
    And all with a calibre of crank conspiracy theories that make the piggy poisoning look like humdrum every-day stuff in comparison.
    As I’ve said before its all just so chucklesome.

    Keep it up Humby…
    I’d be at a loss without all your wonderful contributions here.

    And to top it all off, despite the fact that you and Francisco apparently do not agree on much,
    you are good enough to tell him that he’s welcome here….
    That’s so COOL!!!

    !!! VIVA HUMBY !!!!!!

  5. Francisco Nejdanov Solomin!! DONT WORRY BABY! YOU CAN “INTERPRET ME” AS YOU WISH!! I WILL READ YOUR COMMENTS AND IF I FEEL I CAN ENLIGHTEN YOU ON SOMETHING WILL COPY AND PASTE IT! JE JE JE!! FEEL AT HOME HERE! THIS DOCUMENTARY IS APPROPRIATE FOR TODAY’S REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEATH OF Laura Pollan, ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE “Ladies in White”! ENJOY IT Francisco!

    Filmmakers Carlos González and Pablo Rodríguez made this important 2003 Czech documentary with interviews with dissidents prior to the March 18 crackdown knows as The Black Spring and with their relatives after their arrests and summary trials. Takes a look at the Varela Project as well.

    YOUTUBE DOCUMENTARY: “La Primavera Negra de Cuba” The Cuban Black Spring- part #1 (English sub-titles)

  8. AWWW Francisco Nejdanov Solomin !! YOU WANT ME TO PLAY WITH YOUR MARBLES! SORRY, GOT SOME IMPORTANT WORK TO DO DEAR! JE JE JE! MY BRAIN IS NO NEAR AS LARGE AS YOURS! SO SORRY, IM NOT WORTHY!! JE JE JE!

    SOME VERY GOOD OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE LAST FEW DAYS IN THE LIFE OF LAURA POLLAN! YOU BE THE JUDGE IF THERE IS NOT MORE THAN SUSPICION ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CASTROFASCISTS AROUND THE TIME OF HER DEATH!
    WALL STREET JOURNAL: A Dissident’s Mysterious Death in Havana – Days after a beating by a mob, Laura Pollán fell ill and soon died. She was cremated two hours later.- By MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY

    For more than eight years, the Castro regime tried its level best to silence Ladies in White leader Laura Pollán. Ten days ago Pollán did fall silent. She passed away, after a brief illness, in a Havana hospital.

    Hospital officials initially said that she died of cardiac and respiratory arrest. But according to Berta Soler, the spokesperson for the Ladies in White in Havana, the death certificate says that Pollán succumbed to diabetes mellitus type II, bronchial pneumonia and a syncytial virus.

    Since there was no independent medical care available to her and there was no autopsy, we are unlikely ever to find out what killed Pollán. We do know that although she was a diabetic with high blood pressure, both were under control and she did not need regular insulin shots. Indeed, she had been healthy only weeks before her death, according to friends and family. We also know that the longer she remained under state care, the sicker she got.

    Not surprisingly, the Cuban opposition is suspicious about her demise, and their concerns deserve an airing if only because of the nature of the totalitarian regime. It learned its trade from communist Eastern Europe, where the practice of eliminating enemies while in state custody was refined. Over the life of the Cuban dictatorship, suspicious deaths (most commonly heart attacks) of otherwise healthy individuals who were considered disloyal to the Castros are not unheard of. The most famous was José Abrantes, a former interior minister and confidant of Fidel, who had a falling out with his boss, was imprisoned, and though known for being fit died of a heart attack in his cell in 1991. More than one defector from inside the regime has claimed that Abrantes was murdered.

    Pollán took up her cause when her husband, Hector Maseda, was arrested, along with 74 others, in an island-wide crackdown on dissent in March 2003. Seeking a way to resist the injustice, she joined other women whose loved ones were handed down long sentences in Cuba’s Black Spring. Together they organized a simple, peaceful act of disobedience: After attending Mass at St. Rita’s church in Havana, they marched in the street, dressed in white and carrying gladiolas. The group was peaceful and nonpolitical. But to the regime it was dangerous. Mobs were unleashed against it.

    Beatings, detentions, intimidation and harassment of the group were fruitless. The Ladies repeatedly returned to their “counterrevolutionary” practices: Sunday Mass, silent processions, Wednesday women’s “literary teas” held in Ms. Pollán’s home, prayer vigils for the persecuted.

    The movement took on enormous visual power, and when images of the ladies being attacked in the streets went viral, the dictatorship was humiliated. The Castros were forced to offer the Black Spring prisoners “liberation” through exile with their spouses.

    Pollán and her husband refused. Instead she expanded the movement across the country and promised to convert it to a human rights organization open to all women. Speaking from the Guanajay prison as her condition was deteriorating, jailed former Cuban counterintelligence officer Ernesto Borges Pérez told the Hablemos Press that making public those objectives likely sealed her fate.On Sept. 24, Pollán was attacked by a mob as she tried to leave her house to attend Mass. Her right arm was reportedly twisted, scratched and bitten. This is notable because for more than a year, the Ladies had alleged that when Castro’s enforcement squads came after them, the regime’s goons pricked their skin with needles. Those same women claimed that they subsequently felt dizzy, nauseous and feverish. Independent journalist Carlos Ríos Otero reported this for Hablemos Press before Pollán was hospitalized.

    According to interviews with Pollán’s daughter and husband and with Ms. Soler, conducted by the Miami-based nongovernmental organization Directorio, eight days after the Sept. 24 assault Pollán came down with chills and began vomiting. Wracked with pain in her joints the next day, she was taken to the Calixto García hospital. After a battery of tests she was told everything was normal and released. On Oct. 4, she had a fever and shortness of breath. A prescribed antibiotic did not help. On Oct. 7 she was admitted to the hospital, later transferred to intensive care and the next day put on a respirator.

    Her family was denied visitation rights until Oct. 10, when only her daughter was allowed to see her. State security agents surrounded her bed and monitored the doctors. On Oct. 12 doctors reported that she had a syncytial respiratory virus, which is otherwise known as a cold. She was obviously much sicker.

    On Oct. 14 she died. When the family was allowed to see the body, state security agents were again on hand, as they were at the one-hour wake permitted at midnight. In record time—only two hours later—Pollán was returned to ashes. Who could blame the resistance for its suspicions?

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576645362368682524.html

  9. THE LATE CUBAN ACTIVIST Oswaldo Paya DIED IN AN “ACCIDENT” ACCORDING TO THE CASTROFASCISTS! BUT WE ALL KNOW BETTER, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE LATE Laura Pollan NEARLY DIED IN ANOTHER “ACCIDENT” BEFORE HER DEATH CAUSED BY “DENGUE”! THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT VERY SOON ON THE REAL CAUSES OF THESE TWO MARTYRS!

    VIDEO: The car where the late Cuban dissident Laura Pollan (her death of “dengue” was never fully explained) is traveling gets hit from behind in the documentary “Soy la otra Cuba” (I am the other Cuba) and almost caused a horrific accident @ 4:30 minutes into segment! THIS IS NO COINCIDENCE OR “ACCIDENT”!

  10. Nick, the point about President Obama and whether there should be a thaw seems pretty darn important. I am trying to elicit input in these comment threads from people whose positions and rationales evade me on that issue. I realize their feelings about the Castro regime, and I certainly share these concerns relating to democracy and human rights. But to me that does not answer the question of whether there should be a thaw. I am front and center with my view that their should be a “thaw.” I made it a major subject of a book-length pamphlet I wrote. I have expanded on it further in various posts and comments the best I can. To me each side has its own good reasons for needing to change course, and the status quo is not good at all. If people are in favor of the status quo they should say so. If people think the status quo needs to change, they should present ideas for how this might actually happen, like I have tried to do. I see nothing positive about acquiescing in “54 more years” of rigid inability to talk and fix the problems.

    The challenges to breaking the status quo are not very high on the U.S. side other than political. The U.S. should do these things unilaterally because they are the right thing to do. The last time I checked, the U.S. has budget problems, and people like my friend who lost a grandson from Iraq injuries are tiring of the U.S. trying to be the policeman of the world. The U.S. has closed plenty of bases–not near enough, but still, it knows how to move its forces around. Gitmo could close, the prisoners at the detention camp could be moved to U.S. soil, and the U.S. could move its legitimate military functions some place else, possibly over to Puerto Rico if Puerto Rico wants it. The U.S. also has lifted plenty of embargos.

    The creative challenges are bigger on Cuba’s side, because of the bad example of the Soviet Union/Eastern Bloc/Jeffrey D. Sachs-style destructive austerity-laden transitions. It should go without saying that a transition to being an undemocratic “China” would not be good, but I fear that this is what is most likely to happen, to the delight of U.S. capitalists. Cuba would do well to reject all offers of expert assistance from U.S. capitalist economists. In other words, Cuba needs to reform its socialism, not become market capitalist democracy-lite or a mini-China. It needs to move to democratic socialism, from a closed government to an open government, while assuring economic justice, including that everyone’s basis human needs are met in a democratically-approved social contract.

    Are there opponents to a thaw willing to engage on these rather important Cuba topics? (Perhaps after Canadian Thanksgiving. I truly hope that Neutral Observer is enjoying his or her day and not checking this blog until another day. It is not a holiday where I live, and I have to go back to work now. Peace.)

  11. WE WILL NEVER FORGET LAURA POLLAN AND HER SERVICE FOR THE LIBERATION OF CUBA FROM THE CASTROFASCIST’ GRIP OF OVER 54+ YEARS! R.I.P. LAURA, YOU WILL GET JUSTICE VERY SOON!
    YOUTUBE : Ladies In White (English/español) by Human Rights Foundation (HRF) – The Ladies in White, or “Las Damas de Blanco,” is a civil society group inside Cuba that organizes peaceful Sunday marches for freedom and human rights. The world-renowned group is formed by the wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and supporters of political prisoners who were arrested during the “Black Spring” government crackdown on Cuban dissidents. During the four-day period that occurred in March 2003, 75 independent journalists, librarians, and democracy and human rights advocates were arrested and ultimately convicted with sentences ranging from 6 to 28 years.

  12. AWWW Nick DOES NOT LIKE MY STYLE! BUT HE IS PARTIALLY RIGHT! IM NOT HERE TO GO ON ACADEMIC TANGENTS OF DEBATE! IM HERE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION, DEBUNK STATEMENTS BY THE CASTRO AGENTS/APOLOGISTS AS MUCH AS I CAN AND KEEP THE FOCUS ON CUBA AND CUBAN ISSUES! BESIDES, ALL THAT I DO IS NOT FOR THE COMmENTORS BUT FOR THOSE WHO NEVER OR SELDOM COMMENT BUT READ THE BLOG, READ WHAT WE ALL WRITE AND THE INFORMATION WE PROVIDE! AND Francisco Nejdanov Solomin, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MY STAND ON CUBA YOU CAN DO TWO THINGS: 1. GOOGLE MY NAME OR 2. GO BACK TO 5 YEARS ON THESE COMMENT SECTIONS AND YOU CAN READ PLENTY!

    TODAY MARKS THE 2nd ANNIVERSARY OF LAURA POLLAN’S MURDER BY THE CASTROFASCISTS! SHE WILL GET JUSTICE VERY SOON! THE TRUTH EVENTUALLY WILL COME OUT ON HOW THE CASTRO BROTHERS ORDERED HER KILLED VIA A VIRUS INFECTION OF DENGUE!

    LAURA POLLAN! MAY SHE REST IN PEACE!

    Laura Inés Pollán Toledo (February 13, 1948 – October 14, 2011) was a prominent Cuban opposition leader. Pollan founded the dissident group, Ladies in White, which holds pacific protest marches with the wives and spouses of political prisoners in Cuba to demand their release.[1] The Ladies in White are routinely and violently repressed by the Cuban government.[2]Pollan worked as a literature teacher until her retirement in 2004.[2] In 2003, her husband, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, and seventy-four other Cubans, now known as the Group of 75, were arrested in the Black Spring, a crackdown on opposition figures.[2] The group, which included journalists, activists, and commentators, which the Cuban government accused of taking money from foreign governments, including the United States.[2]Pollan soon began appearing outside government facilities where her husband could have potentially been imprisoned.[2] She soon ran into the wives of other political prisoners, which led to the founding of the Ladies in White.[2] Pollan always wore white, a symbol of the organization, and became a key opposition figure in Cuba. Her home at 963 Calle Neptuno in Havana became a center of opposition where she hosted literary tea for wives of political prisoners.[3]Pollan died of cardiorespiratory arrest on October 14, 2011, at the age of 63.[2] She had been hospitalized since October 7.[2] According to the Cuban government, she had suffered from dengue fever.[4]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Poll%C3%A1n

  13. Hi again Trevor,

    I can understand why the UK and USA have agents in some parts of the world where there is a potential threat.
    I can understand that Cuba has agents in Florida as it is well known that a threat is present there.
    I guess that USA has agents in Cuba as some sort of tit for tat thing.
    But surely no-one in the USA still sees Cuba as a threat??

    “……much of the political arena around the world is made up of (mostly men) whose sole agenda is “mine is bigger than yours and we are going to ride this _______________________ (insert whatever issue), until we win, no matter who gets hurt in the process. The people are secondary to their whims.”
    I take on board this comment you wrote and do not disagree in any way.

    I would also say that in my opinion “THE FLORIDA LOBBY” does not wield as much power as it once did.
    I think that perhaps U.S. politicians overestimate the current influence of this lobby.
    I think that President Obama is labelled ‘a socialist’ so often by the right wing media that he is reluctant to thaw out relations with Cuba.
    I had high hopes that he would have been mere in favour of a thaw. Pretty much everyone I spoke to about it in Cuba hoped for the same.
    I still hope he will initiate a thaw as he reaches the end of his second term in office.

    I’m glad you say you don’t watch Fox News.
    That puts a smile on my face.

  14. Neutral Observer, I put a lot of effort into explaining my position on the reckless use of the term fascist, and the end result is that I seem to get a left wing loony rating on your scale, and you circle back to the same scandalous equation of my cause of love for all of humanity with the cause of hate for the other, and telling me that my cause is responsible for the people who have historically opposed it most viciously. I am proud to be a socialist. I am proud that, unlike you, my ancestors knew the difference between socialism and fascism and, unlike you, stood on the left side and not the right side of the political spectrum. I am proud to peacefully oppose fascists, and, if I had to like Orwell go to fight them, I would, but as SPLC points out, in the U.S. at least there is a better way.

    I am glad that there does not appear to be a fascist movement in Cuba like there is in the U.S. Cuba has a lot of problems, but it seems like it is doing something right besides having pushed, imperfectly, for economic justice for half a century, and more recently, sustainability. I do not know if Cubans at some point will get free use of the internet much less full democracy and human rights. I hope that your loony tunes play a positive role in achieving these objections. It seems like in an open society like Canada or the U.S., the fascists exploit the situation. In a closed undemocratic society, like Cuba, the group in power, of whatever bent, can exploit the situation, and I have said over and over that this kind of system is wrong.

    But I should not have to join your slander club to prove my bona fides. In the U.S., when the DHS tried to focus on right-wing extremism, the right-wing howled. How did you feel about that? Being a neutral Canadian, do you think that the U.S. should shut down investigating right-wing extremism because it might hurt the right-wing’s feelings at its Tea Parties? Or, am I running afoul of Humberto’s only Cuba-related issues, which he ignores himself?

    It is really easy to see how the Cuba-U.S. relationship has been stuck in concrete for such a long time. Please begin to move around a little and help me break up some of the concrete.

  15. Also, you must be concerned about Cubans’ dollars funding their agents in the US, no? Are you as concerned about that?

  16. Nick, What is your question that you want my opinion on, exactly? I must have missed something. What “agents” are you referring to?

    I must say that I find it really strange that you pick a topic, and then add “do the taxpayers in the USA want their tax dollars going to __________________, or, are US taxpayers aware that their tax dollars are funding ___________________? Gee, I don’t know, do the taxpayers in the UK want their tax dollars to fund whatever distasteful thing that the UK does around the world?

    The short answer is, of course not, but we are not walking encyclopedias of knowledge as to where each and every tax dollar is going. This is a huge country. We are compelled, by law, to pay income taxes. We do, however, have the right to vote the bozos out of office if we don’t like what they are up to. Not so in Cuba.

    “THE FLORIDA LOBBY” really seems to loom much larger in the minds of spectators, such as yourself, than it really is.

    In case you haven’t been able to figure this one out, much of the political arena around the world is made up of (mostly men) whose sole agenda is “mine is bigger than yours and we are going to ride this _______________________ (insert whatever issue), until we win, no matter who gets hurt in the process. The people are secondary to their whims. This is true in the US, the UK, Cuba, and on and on around the world.

    I also believe that the “right-wing-controlled-media” thing looms much larger than it really is. I live in the US, and have never once seen Fox news. NEVER. I have a choice, and I make that choice every day. If Fox news and their ilk were all that was available, now that would be a different story.

  17. Nick,

    Once again, asking our opinion about a conspiracy theory he read in Granma.

    Well, I’ll leave the asylum to the inmates for the day.

    It is Thanksgiving in Canada and I give thinks I can always find something to eat in this dirty capitalist country, that nobody tells me how to think or who to vote for, that communist storm troopers don’t assault and jail me for criticizing my government, and that I have a reliable source of clean, running water.

    Unlike most Cubans.

    So off to shower and drink some water, and eat a healthy breakfast. Oh, the suffering we must endure under capitalism, the capitalism no socialist wants to leave for a life in Cuba.

  18. Hi Trevor
    I do not wish you to trash the US, or the UK, or Fiji or anywhere.
    I’m just curious about whether those that pay taxes in the USA think that what has been reported is a good use of this money, particularly given the current economic climate.
    I would be very interested in your opinion?
    Are the people of the USA aware that these agents are operating in Cuba?
    Do they think Cuba is a threat in some way?
    Is it an attempt to get votes in Florida?
    Interested in your opinion that’s all, don’t want anywhere to be trashed….

  19. I don’t really feel the need to trash the US, or the UK, or Fiji for that matter, with every post.

  20. A considerable amount of hot air regarding El Granma…..
    But no comment on the ridiculous waste of US taxpayers money funding yet another useless and inept attempt at…….
    …attempt at what exactly????

  21. Trevor, millions of Cubans have just accepted Granma as toilet paper for decades.

    It is only read by tourists and used as toilet paper by Cubans.

    This is no exaggeration.

  22. Boy, this is ripe. An “article” from Granma on the issue of human rights in Cuba. A direct quote from some minister of whatever:

    “He added that the country affords high importance not only to the protection but also to the right of freedom of expression and assembly, which have a constitutional ranking.

    On the other hand, he observed that the principal obstacle for extending Internet services is the U.S. blockade, but in spite of it, there exists a will to overcome these impediments by alternative means, and to extend Cubans’ access to the network as much as possible.”

    Hmmmm……whatever happened to that high-speed internet cable from Venezuela? Like I said, Granma is for the gullible and for the Fidel and Raul worshipers of the world. One scan of all the articles on the site, and you should, if you are rational, be able to discern the “we blame the embargo for all our woes, The Cuban 5, Posada-Carriles, stuck-in-a-time-warp nature of the “articles.”

    Human rights, indeed. And this is the crap that millions of Cubans have to accept as “news.” No comments section on Granma for anyone to debate the issues. I wonder why that is.

    The same tired articles have been posted on Granma for decades.

  23. On the socialist roots of fascism:

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100203076/so-total-is-the-lefts-cultural-ascendancy-that-we-dare-not-mention-the-socialist-roots-of-fascism/

    Left wing loonies like to say they are opposed to fascism because right wing loonies and left wing loonies sometimes attack each other.

    This makes as much sense as stating a drug cartel or mafia family or motorcycle gang is no such thing when it fights with another of the same kind.

    The best evidence for the lunatic nature of the pro-Castro set is that despite all their propaganda, not one has ever gone to live under Castro as a common Cuban.

    In 55 years of constant propaganda, not one vote of confidence from a friend of Castro.

  24. The fervor with which they deny the similarities between neo-Nazis and the loony pro-Castro left is great, but they provide no evidence.

    In Greece leftists have been killing innocent people for years, but the Golden Dawn killing someone is somehow different?

    Nazis, Golden Dawn, Friends of Castro, Occupy Wall street, they all spout the same slogans. They all attack capitalism, finance, banks, Israel, a free press, Western democracy, etc.

    They are all hypocrites too, as they all love money and capitalism and their own big banks.

    There is only one meaningful political spectrum.

    On one end you have unthinking hateful lunatics, like the KKK and the Friends of Castro, always banging their war drums.

    At the other end, people who believe in equality, tolerance and respect.

  27. I am used to getting along with people with drastically different views on politics. I respect everyone here and do not attribute bad motives even when I disagree with what they write. I was raised in a very conservative Republican milieu and then as a free-thinking responsible adult gradually came to a different set of political beliefs. Even with propaganda, whether it is on the anti-Castro side or the pro-Castro side, human beings usually have a moral justification for their conduct. I may disagree with it but I like to try to understand it. Humberto is entitled to his opinions and to his way of expressing them. I have learned from the materials he posts. I have been trying to understand why it is that he only wants to talk about one set of issues, albeit very important ones I share a strong interest in, and on one side of the equation. I am not attributing bad motives to this, just trying to understand it. My working assumption is that from his vantage point because the human rights violations in Cuba are so hurtful, real, and undeniable that this becomes a vortex of pain and empathy that overwhelms, or should overwhelm, all other discussion.

    As a U.S. inhabitant and a compassionate human being obliged to be a peacemaker, I can empathize while also realizing that I have a vote and a voice to use in my own country and, thanks to the internet, in the world, for good as much as I can. I am not a Castro agent/apologist, to use Humberto’s description of me. Don’t take my word for it, and by all means scrutinize what I write for bias. But also question whether I have shown that I am a Castro agent/apologist by:
    1. Not wanting the term fascist used in the loose and historically inaccurate way that some like to use it, just like I won’t use concentration camp recklessly.
    2. Wanting to discuss the role my country might play in promoting improvements in Cuba, particularly given the highly imperfect U.S. history and continuing involvement with the island, and my own family ties to supporting democracy and human rights in Cuba going back to at least 1880, when my family shows up in the Key West census as having emigrated from Cuba.
    3. Wanting to discuss Cuba in context with other places, including the U.S., Hispaniola, and other places around the world.
    4. Wanting to explore possible bias on the part of Florida economic interests which might experience greater competition if Cuba were not the subject of a unilateral embargo on travel and trade.
    5. Wanting to encourage Cuban ex-patriots: (a) to support other hard-working immigrant groups in the U.S. seeking political and civil rights, and in general to not box themselves in on the U.S. political right; and (b) to engage in dialogue with others so that others can understand them and their views better. When ex-patriots incoherently tell other U.S. inhabitants that they are Castro agent/apologists while refusing to dialogue, at a minimum they are losing credibility for their cause. Other U.S. inhabitants like me might want to understand the merits of their position and the reasons for their points of view. I do not want to assume incorrectly if I can avoid it.

  28. I do believe in every Granma article until someone proves that a specific piece of information contained there is false. Yelling “Castrofascist” is not an argument. The more you yell, the more you help Cuba, because all you reach is an inflation effect for your adjectives.

    Anyone doubts that Kelly Keiderling Franz was a CIA agent?

  29. WE ARE NOT DUMB IN THESE COMMENT SECTIONS! …..SAME MESSAGE:

    So we had Humby’s second favourite paste a few days ago (the one about the quacking ducks) and yesterday we had, once again, his ‘numero uno’.
    Both his favourite pastes in the space of just a few days!
    Well what a treat!
    His ‘numero uno’ paste is the one where he lists his fave members of his fave family…..

    Humby, do you think they all live in a big old house like a Cuban version of The Waltons??

    “Goodnite John-Boy”
    “Goodnite Jim-Bob”
    “Goodnite Rauly”
    “Goodnite Fifi”
    “Goodnite Mariela”
    “Goodnite Humby”

  30. Francisco,
    So do you think Dear Old Humby comes on here to engage in some kind of a debate??
    Do you think he welcomes somebody with objective opinions?
    He comes on here to mis-use the word ‘fascist’ and to do his copying and pasting.
    His has a very old set of blinkers very, very firmly in place.
    Sometimes he pastes stuff which is actually quite interesting.
    Just like sometimes ‘El Granma’ has articles in it that are interesting.
    But don’t hold your breath waiting for any debate or objectivity…..

    Francisco, just keep writing and posting whatever it is you want to write and post….
    I find it interesting and find that what you write raises the level of debate considerably…..

  31. Humberto I raise real Cuba-related questions and you ignore them. I read everything you post man. When you get the time please help me to understand your positions on the Cuba-related questions I raised. I want my country to do the right things. Maybe one day you’ll realize that.

  32. Meanwhile sad news in the US: 013/10/13/pulitzer-winning cubanamerican novelist Oscar Hijuelos dies

  33. KEEP ON APOLOGIZING FOR THE CASTROFASCISTS AND ATTEMPTING AT CHANGING THE SUBJECT “AMIGO” Francisco Nejdanov Solomin DEAR! WE ARE NOT DUMB IN THESE COMMENT SECTIONS! SAME MESSAGE, DIFFERENT AGENT/APOLOGIST!
    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Cuba urged to revoke repressive laws and release prisoners of conscience – 17 March 2010
    Amnesty International on Wednesday called on the Cuban authorities to revoke laws that restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association and to release all dissidents unfairly detained by the authorities.

    The organization also urged President Raúl Castro to allow independent monitoring of the human rights situation in Cuba by inviting UN experts to visit the country and by facilitating monitoring by other human rights groups.

    The call came ahead of the 7th anniversary of the arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents around 18 March 2003. Fifty-three of those arrested continue to be detained. One of those arrested in March 2003, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died on 22 February 2010, having spent several weeks on hunger strike in protest at prison conditions.

    “Cuban laws impose unacceptable limits on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly,” said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. “Cuba desperately needs political and legal reform to bring the country in line with basic international human rights standards.

    “The long imprisonment of individuals solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights is not only a tragedy in itself but also constitutes a stumbling block to other reforms, including the beginning of the dialogue needed for the lifting of the US unilateral embargo against Cuba.”

    Several articles of the Cuban Constitution and Criminal Code are so vague that they are currently being interpreted in a way that infringes fundamental freedoms.

    Article 91 of Cuba’s Criminal Code provides for sentences of ten to 20 years or death for anyone “who in the interest of a foreign state, commits an act with the objective of damaging the independence or territorial integrity of the Cuban state”.

    According to article 72 “any person shall be deemed dangerous if he or she has shown a proclivity to commit crimes demonstrated by conduct that is in manifest contradiction with the norms of socialist morality” and article 75.1 states that any police officer can issue a warning for such “dangerousness”. The declaration of a dangerous pre-criminal state can be decided summarily. A warning may also be issued for associating with a “dangerous person”.

    Law 88 provides for seven to 15 years’ imprisonment for passing information to the United States that could be used to bolster anti-Cuban measures, such as the US economic blockade. The legislation also bans the ownership, distribution or reproduction of “subversive materials” from the US government, and proposes terms of imprisonment of up to five years for collaborating with radio, TV stations or publications deemed to be assisting US policy.

    Local non-governmental organizations have great difficulty in reporting on human rights violations due to restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression, association and movement. International independent human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, are not allowed to visit the island.

    CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE REPORT!

    http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/cuba-urged-revoke-repressive-laws-and-release-prisoners-conscience-2010-03-17

  34. AMIGO Francisco Nejdanov Solomin !! IF YOU WISH TO TAKE YOUR TIME TO CRITIZISE THE USA IN THIS BLOG COMMENT SECTION, FEEL FREE TO DO SO! IN MY OPINION, YOU ARE TRYING TO DIVERT THE CONVERSATION FROM THE IMPORTANT CUBA AND CUBAN RELATED TOPICS! BUT FEEL FREE TO KEEP ON SINGING THE “BAD OLD USA” SONG! WE ARE USED TO HEAR IN IT WHEN THERE IS NO ARGUMENTS OR DESIRE TO DISCUSS CUBA AND CUBAN ISSUES DEAR! AND IM NOT HEAR TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF, BUT THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT OF COURSE, FOR ME TO STOP POSTING RELEVANT ARTICLES AND GO OFF IN A TANGENT WITH YOU! WONT HAPPEN!

    FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE: The Castro family playground- Blake Hounshell – Friday, May 2, 2008
    During the past few years family members of both Fidel and Raúl Castro have come to occupy important positions in Cuba’s government. This Castro clan represents in addition to the military, the security apparatus and the Communist Party, a significant force in Cuba’s political and economic structures.

    Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart- Relationship: Fidel Castro’s son
    Position: Advisor, Ministry of Basic Industry

    Col. Alejandro Raúl Castro Espin – Releationship: Raúl Castro’s son
    Position: Chief, Intelligence Information Services, Ministry of the Interior; Coordinator, Intelligence Exchange with China

    Ramón Castro Ruz- Relationship: Fidel and Raúl’s oldest brother
    Position: Advisor, Ministry of Sugar

    Dr. Antonio Castro Soto – Relationship: Fidel Castro’s son
    Position: Investment Chief, Frank Pais Hospital. Doctor for Cuba’s baseball team

    Major Raúl Alejandro Rodríguez Castro – Relationship: Raúl Castro’s
    grandson
    Position: Raúl Castro’s military guard in charge of his personal security

    Deborah Castro Espin – Relationship: Raúl Castro’s daughter
    Position: Advisor, Ministry of Education

    Mariela Castro Espin – Relationship: Raúl Castro’s daughter
    Position: Head, Center for Sexual Education

    Marcos Portal León – Relationship: Married to Raúl Castro’s niece
    Position: In charge of nickel industry, member of the Central Committee
    of Cuba’s Communist Party

    Col. Luís Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja – Relationship: Raúl Castro’s son-in-law
    Chief Executive Officer of Grupo GAESA (Grupo de Administración de Empresas, S.A.) which supervises military enterprises Alfonsito Fraga, Related to Raúl CastroMinistry of
    Foreign Relations

    http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2008/05/02/the_castro_family_playground

  35. Trevor,
    There are other outlets in Cuba.
    El Granma is not the only one.
    I am not suggesting that the state media in Cuba is in any way preferable to the predominantly right wing owned and influenced media that you have or that we have.
    Neither media is perfect.
    When I see what presumes itself to be a ‘free press’ or when I see the likes of Fox News with its fundamentalist slant, then I have to say to you that I do despair somewhat.
    In comparison when I see the media in Cuba I find it to be more high brow and in some ways more educational, less sensationalist, less celebrity based etc but I do not condone its one track and blinkered take on the world and its obviously limited viewpoint.
    As I say, neither is perfect.
    Thank goodness for the internet.
    I look forward to a time when all Cuban people have free access to the internet and I am confident that this time will come…….

  36. Hi Nick.

    In Cuba, Granma is it, and there are no comments allowed on their website. No different points of view. In the US and UK, discussion is possible, and many, many other news outlets are available.

  37. Free internet access among the Cuban population is not one of the goals of the Castroit regime. The regime overwhelming regulation of the internet, with minimal access, make it one of the worst in the world.

    Those who want to use the Internet have to go through “access points” control by the regime, and their activity is carefully monitored by blocking IPs or by using different filters. Only pro-government blogger’s and government employees can upload information on the Internet.

  38. Cuba’s Dark Internet

    One of World’s Most Restricted, Despite Recent Infrastructure Upgrades

    By Joel Fensch on Wednesday, October 9, 2013

    Cuba’s internet remains one of the most restricted and censored in the world, according to the 2013 Freedom on the Net ranking, published this past week by Freedom House. The watchdog organization, dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world, has covered 60 nations in its third annual report, and Cuba received the worst available grade of “not free.” That compares with “free” grades for Argentina and the United States — while Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela were “partially free.”

    In addition to technical or network restrictions on accessible content for Cubans, the 2013 survey cites crackdowns on bloggers and citizen journalists in late 2012, high prices, and extensive government regulation as major factors contributing to Cuba’s unenviable position (p.21, PDF).

    Hopes were high that freedom of ideas would spread in Cuba this year following the installation of a high-speed fiber optic cable from politically sympathetic Venezuela. Unfortunately, this did not lead to more access for Cubans, as it became clear that select government agencies and offices were the real beneficiaries of the upgrade. This means that most Cubans continue to be limited to the national intranet, which consists of an in-country e-mail system, a Cuban encyclopedia, and websites that tend to be supportive of the government.

    Internet access in Cuba has traditionally been limited by both a lack of funding on the island and fear from the regime regarding the implications of a public with unbridled access to information and online networking. Access in the tightly controlled communist nation also remains expensive where available — four times the average salary.

    Continuous reading here: .http://panampost.com/joel-fensch/2013/10/09/cubas-dark-internet/

  39. Trevor
    ‘Granma is the mouthpiece of the Cuban dictatorship.’
    Yes. I would go along with this viewpoint to an extent.
    But only the to same extent that I would go along with the viewpoint that the right-wing run media in USA, UK etc is the mouthpiece of failing right-wing capitalism….

  40. Humberto,

    In church today we heard about the Samaritan leper who was the only one of the healed ten lepers to return in gratitude to Jesus. I am grateful for the country I live in, where I have the rights of free speech and political democracy-lite, but it is not a perfect healing Jesus and part of being a good citizen is to be able to criticize my government and seek greater justice and love. After church I had lunch with an old man who recently lost his grandson from long term severe IED brain injuries suffered in Iraq that he could never get over. The grandfather like the grandson was an army veteran. He said what a waste Iraq was. No face washing I could do for Cuba can erase the truth that my government does some stupid and bad things that waste lives and international credibility.

    For example, Gitmo should close and the detention camp, and they are in Cuba. I assume you agree that the Platt amendment was unfair to Cuban sovereignty and helped undermine Cuban independence and assist U.S. corporations and the actual mafia to exploit Cuba. The embargo also is accomplishing nothing. It is a dumb and hypocritical U.S. policy. The other things I said linked up to your word choice and issues where there are parallel implications in both countries, such as immigrants having rights. I trust you are in the U.S. and have citizen rights and want others to have the same and agree with me that Ann Coulter is not wanting justice for immigrants and yet not a fascist.

    This is an interesting blog because of the diversity of opinions. If your opinion is that anyone who does not use your word choice is not a worthy critic of the Castro regime you have been in a bubble of right-wing thought too long, used to facing challenge only by people you obviously detest.

    I seriously doubt my wimpy language will accomplish anything, but neither it would seem has your language. So I can take my marbles and go home, but I won’t. If I had your ties and experiences with Cuba, I guess I would not particularly care about toning it down. I asked for you to point me to something that explained your experiences for me to learn from. I watched the two videos you recommended.

  41. WOW! IMAGINE THIS! SOMETHING THAT TALKS ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CUBA RIGHT NOW! IM SURE

    THE CASTROFASCISTS ONLY WANT THEIR “GOVERNMENT” OWNED STORES TO FLOURISH AND PROVIDE THEM WITH MONEY$! THEY CANT STAND A LITTLE COMPETITION!
    “But Cuba’s new breed of retailers detect an ulterior motive. Anecdotal evidence suggests sales in often drab and poorly stocked state stores have slumped.”

    BBC NEWS: Tighter rules threaten Cuba’s independent clothes sellers – by Sarah Rainsford

    In the three years since the island’s communist government expanded the opportunities for private business, the clothes stores have sprung up across Cuba, usually offering a wider choice and cheaper price tag than state-run alternatives.

    But now the government has announced it is tightening the trading rules, leaving thousands of retailers facing the loss of their licenses and their livelihood.

    “We’re waiting for the inspectors to show at any moment,” says Victor, in the porch of his central Havana home where he set up shop three years ago.

    BAN ON IMPORTS:

    The amended rules were published in the government’s official gazette and specify that the clothes sellers, whose licenses define them as tailors and dressmakers, are banned from selling imported fashions.
    Officially, individuals are not allowed to import items for sale.

    But Cuba has no wholesale provision for its nascent private sector, so unlicensed suppliers run networks of “mules”, people who hand-carry everything from clothing to computer parts into the country.

    But now the Communist Party newspaper Granma has informed license-holders that by selling imported clothes they are breaking the law, meaning that as many as 20,000 stores will have to close.
    Many shopkeepers say there is an easy answer to the problem. They suggest the government simply alters the licences from “seamstress” to “clothes-seller” and charge higher taxes, benefitting the government, and allowing them to stay in business.

    But officials insist the new measure will “bring order” to the non-state sector and put an end to illegal practices.

    CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24474318

  42. WOW! AM IN IN A COMMENT SECTION ABOUT “BAD OLD USA” OR ABOUT CUBA AND CUBAN ISSUES! GUESS OUR NEWEST COMENTOR, Francisco Nejdanov Solomin HAS LEARNED THAT TIRESOME “BAD OLD USA” SONG TOO! SING IT BABY! AND BY THE WAY! DONT TRY TO EQUATE THE TERM “CUBA” WITH THE CASTROFASCISTS, TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS! THAT “CASTROFASCIST” FACE WASHING TACTIC IS VERY TRANSPARENT! THE CASTROFASCIST, OLIGARCHY MAFIA HAS RUNNED CUBA FOR THE PAST 54+ YEARS! LET’S CALL A SPADE A SPADE!

    DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CASTROFASCIST OLIGARCHY MAFIA? INVESTORS IN CUBA BEWARE!

    MIAMI HERALD: Panama businessman jailed in Cuba – by Juan Tamayo

    An elderly Panamanian businessman has been jailed in Cuba for more than a year in what is variously described as a case of corruption or Havana attempts to renege on its debts or switch more of its trade to businessmen from politically sympathetic countries.

    Nessin Abadi, in his early 70s and owner of the large Audiofoto chain of electronics stores, was arrested around August of last year but has not been tried or even charged, according to friends and business contacts in Panama City.

    Relatives have kept the case out of the news media because of fears that the Cuban government will retaliate against him, the sources said. The family declined an El Nuevo Herald request for an interview or information on the case.

    But the public records of Panama’s Foreign Ministry show Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Franco spent $1,551.42 on a trip to Havana Oct. 7-8 to talk to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez about “the Nessin Abadi case.” The ministry did not respond to El Nuevo Herald calls for comment for this story.

    Abadi, part of a large family of Syrian Jews who migrated to Panama in the early 1900s, had been selling Asian-made electronic, household and other goods and equipment to the Cuban government for many years out of Panama’s duty-free Colon Free Zone (CFZ).

    He has been detained in several homes in Havana run by the Interior Ministry and one jail, and interrogated almost daily by ministry investigators but has not been charged, according to his friends and business contacts.

    Cuban officials told relatives during the few contacts they have been allowed that he is suspected of corruption, added the sources, who said they were outraged by Abadi’s jailing but asked to remain anonymous because of the family’s wishes.

    CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!

    http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/08/3678411/panama-businessman-jailed-in.html

  43. GUESS OUR NEWEST COMENTOR, Francisco Nejdanov Solomin HAS LEARNED THAT TIRESOME “BAD OLD USA” SONG TOO! SING IT BABY! AND BY THE WAY! DONT TRY TO EQUATE THE TERM “CUBA” WITH THE CASTROFASCISTS, TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS! THAT “CASTROFASCIST” WHITE WASHING TACTIC IS VERY TRANSPARENT! THE CASTROFASCIST, OLIGARCHY MAFIA HAS RUNNED CUBA FOR THE PAST 54+ YEARS! LET’S CALL A SPADE A SPADE!

    DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CASTROFASCIST OLIGARCHY MAFIA? INVESTORS IN CUBA BEWARE!
    GULF TIMES: Businessman jailed without charge in Cuba – Oct. 12, 2013

    An elderly Panamanian businessman has been jailed in Cuba for more than a year in what is variously described as a case of corruption or attempts by Havana to renege on its debts or switch more of its trade to businessmen from politically sympathetic countries.

    Nessin Abadi, in his early 70s and owner of the large Audiofoto chain of electronics stores, was arrested around August of last year but has not been tried or even charged, according to friends and business contacts in Panama City.

    Relatives have kept the case out of the news media because of fears that the Cuban government will retaliate against him, the sources said. The family declined a request for an interview or information on the case.

    But the public records of Panama’s foreign ministry show Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Franco spent $1,551.42 on a trip to Havana on October 7-8, 2012, to talk to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez about “the Nessin Abadi case.”

    The ministry did not respond to calls for comment for the story.

    Abadi, part of a large family of Syrian Jews who migrated to Panama in the early 1900s, had been selling Asian-made electronic, household and other goods and equipment to the Cuban government for many years out of Panama’s duty-free Colon Free Zone (CFZ).

    He has been detained in several homes in Havana run by the interior ministry and one jail, and interrogated almost daily by ministry investigators but has not been charged, according to his friends and business contacts.

    Cuban officials told relatives during the few contacts they have been allowed that he is suspected of corruption, added the sources, who said they were outraged by Abadi’s jailing but asked to remain anonymous because of the family’s wishes.

    The government of Raul Castro jailed at least a dozen foreign businessmen in Havana in 2011 and 2012 in what he painted as a crackdown on corruption so prevalent on the island that it was endangering the future of the communist government.

    CFZ businessmen said that Abadi has a reputation for total honesty and that they suspected Cuba arrested him to avoid paying its debt to him – and to send a message to its other debtors in Panama to await any late payments patiently and keep their mouths shut.

    Cuba’s total debt to CFZ business owners is not known because there is no central clearing system, but it is considered to be significant because “it is increasingly becoming more and more difficult to collect from Cuba,” said one Panamanian businessman.

    For Cuba to accuse foreign businessmen of corruption is “like calling the kettle black,” he added.

    “What happened is that there is no law in Cuba. These international investors served their useful purpose and now they are being burned by the government.”

    CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!

    http://www.gulf-times.com/us-latin%20america/182/details/368381/businessman-jailed-without-charge-in-cuba

  44. Granma is the mouthpiece of the Cuban dictatorship. Only the gullible would believe what is written there.

  45. CIA NEVER SLEEPS. AGENT KELLY IS GONE BUT OTHERS ARE UNDER WAY

    … The Agencia Literaria Cubana Online webpage was created, used by writers to disseminate and sell their work, but the idea began to change into something else, they said they wanted it to bring together not only writers but also artists and musicians, to be coordinated with other embassies, such as the German one, etc… They would receive funding for all of that,” affirmed Capote while describing Keiderling’s intelligence work.

    “They would hand over three, four of five thousand dollars without even checking to see of we had organized the activity for which the money was requested….

    The CIA spent tens of millions of dollars during 50 years of promoting activities hostile to Cuba, trying to create focal points of dissidence.

    http://www.granma.cu/ingles/international-i/11oct-Keiderling.html

  46. Ms. Coulter is a non-fascist hardcore Republican. She has done the math (poorly to be sure, according to the Huffington Post piece) and does not want millions of people to have full human rights in the U.S. In Cuba, the non-fascist hardcore PCC leaders who control change presumably have been doing the math for 54 years and so far do not want millions of people to have full human rights in Cuba. I as a deep democrat want both groups of disenfranchised people to have full human rights to democratically take full part in controlling their polity and their economy where they live (just like I want for the disenfranchised persons of Haitian descent I have met who live in DR bateyes and slums). Meanwhile, in the U.S., is a “special” group of people who have sick nationalist/racialist reasons for wanting to prevent non-Anglo people from even being in the U.S. They may be appropriately called fascists. They are in Greece too at this moment, where their numbers are on the ascendance. Usually they are just a freak show subculture and dominate some white prison populations, but occasionally they take over neighborhoods, cities, regions, and whole countries. Places like Germany struggle with how to deal with them in a tolerant society. In the U.S. the ACLU defends their right to hold inhumane views. Places that do not have fascists should be grateful.

  48. In the U.S., where I am located, the far right is increasingly focused on prejudice against brown people seeking citizenship and voting rights, people I hope writing comments on this blog are in solidarity with. “Anti-immigrant” is a classic fascist focus, of course, and as millions of good hard-working brown people seek to become fully integrated into the society they support, fascism is there trying to stand in the way and still trying to build a white Christian nation, coupled with many non-fascist Machiavellian Republicans who fear the voting block of the opposition is increasing beyond their ability to overcome with corporate money and Rovean dirty tricks. Here is a report by SPLC on candidates of the far right in the 2010 election cycle: “Electoral Extremism: 23 Candidates on the Radical Right”: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/spring/electoral-extremism-23-candidates-on-radical-right. Here is another report by SPLC about the better way than violence to confront the fascists of the U.S.: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2013/summer/a-better-way.

    So, fascism is still very much a problem in the U.S., and because of the stakes, with millions of people’s democratic and human rights needing to be established in the U.S., this is an additional reason to avoid careless use of the term at this blog and in general. I look forward to the day when people who care about me do not have to suffer repression in the U.S. for my being a peaceful democratic socialist, but more importantly, I look forward to the day when all U.S. inhabitants have equal rights as citizens, rights fascists seek to deny them.

  49. There is a very good use of words in the previous comment from Francisco regarding the use of the word ‘fascist’ to add ‘heat’ to one’s rhetoric.
    This is done frequently here on this comments page.
    It could be said that the use of the word is an attempt to add heat, but that it actually has the opposite effect.
    It just waters down any argument that the user may have.

    Its up to the individual how they use the English language, but to use this term as simply a general form of insult for someone they don’t like is demeaning to those who have suffered at the hands of the KKK or under the Nazis during WW2.
    It is also demeaning to the people of Greece who are witnessing the rise of the Golden Dawn Party. This is real fascism and it is occurring now.
    It is occurring due to Greece being the European country worst affected by the failure of the neo liberalist economic experiment.
    The neo-liberalist experiment is a form of ‘fundamentalist’ capitalism and is very right-wing, the Golden Dawn party is even further to the right.

    Right wing capitalists traditionally try to disassociate themselves from the far right.
    This is the reason for their lame attempts to lump Fascism and Marxism together.
    They are right wing; fascists are even further to the right.
    Right wing capitalists simply refuse to admit this basic fact.

  50. The reason white supremacists feel comfortable with the Tea Party Republicans is because of the Nixon Southern Strategy. That was and is strategy to benefit from racism. Nothing to be careful about there. I have lived that strategy most of my life. The fascists are not showing up to root for Obama.

    Fascists are ever lurking on the fringes and looking for uninformed people. They borrow terms like Christian and socialism. Nefarious results include bait and switch for vulnerable uninformed people and tainting these terms. They do a great service to the right-wing by using socialism in the title.

    Communist party discipline/real politic is a horrible thing. Stalin was happy to deal with Hitler. Woody Guthrie sang peace songs until Stalin decided to oppose Hitler. Then Woody went all in. George H. W. Bush became a WWII hero. Neither was a fascist.

    Many people on the left are willing to acquiesce in fascist being used to refer to any bully. As Orwell pointed out in 1944 this is not a new practice, but that does not make it accurate. Some on the left who, like me, disagree with authoritarian governance are tempted to use the term against Castro, etc. However, I have too much respect for the people who have died fighting real fascists, or who have been beaten or killed by real fascists, to bandy about the term just to add heat to my rhetoric.

    As far as communists who you say play nice with Holocaust deniers and other anti-Semites because the communists support the Palestinian cause that would go on the long of human failures. Same can be said for Islamic fundamentalists who believe anything bad about the U.S. or Israel. The search for truth requires us to be able to support Palestinian human rights without buying in to garbage about the Holocaust or other ugly lies told by anti-Semites.

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